The Heartbeat
Chapter 6
"Never mind the obstacles"
After the Council meeting, Arthur announced the new laws to the rest of his subjects. He did it in person, speaking from the balcony to the crowd gathered at the courtyard. Guinevere was by his side but Merlin disappeared somewhere before he could ask him to keep him company at the announcement.
It felt strange to announce Merlin's new position at Court without him by his side but it had to be enough for the moment. Arthur decided to make sure that Merlin would be present during his next public speech. It was going to be one of his new duties.
To say that the people of Camelot were surprised by this change in the law was an understatement. Some of them looked at him suspiciously, as if they expected it to be a trap, as if he was going to punish the first person who dared to use magic in public.
Some people looked genuinely happy and pleased but others were definitely scared.
Arthur sighed inwardly. It was going to be as difficult as he feared.
"You did well," Gwen told him once they were alone in their chambers. "I'm proud of you."
"I wish Merlin could be there," said Arthur quietly. "Where did he go anyway?"
"The Council meeting was difficult for him too. I think that two tough meetings during one day were too much for him. Give him some time. He'll get used to it."
"You're probably right." Her words, however, didn't make him feel any better. He missed Merlin's presence and he couldn't help it.
oOoOo
Merlin came back a couple of hours later, when Guinevere was attending a weekly meeting with the Ladies of the Court. Merlin knew it and that was why he chose this time of the day. He needed to talk to Arthur face to face without any witnesses. Besides, he decided to avoid Gwen and Arthur in the same room as much as possible. In his mind, he called it a self-preservation tactic.
"Merlin! Where have you been?" Arthur asked him accusingly. "I was almost worried."
"I was doing my job," Merlin replied.
"No, you weren't," the king said firmly. "You were supposed to be by my side when I was announcing the lift of ban on magic. I announced you the Court Sorcerer too. You should have been there."
Merlin shook his head. "That's another thing," he said. "You didn't tell me yesterday that you were going to do that."
"I told you that I'd make you my advisor."
"The positions of Advisor and Court Sorcerer are two different things," Merlin pointed out. "Do you have any idea how distracted and nervous you made me feel? I wasn't prepared for that!"
"You looked pleasantly surprised," Arthur replied. "I wanted it to be a surprise. That's all."
Merlin sighed. "Don't get me wrong because I appreciate that. I do," he said. "I just didn't expect so much and I felt a bit dumb."
"You're always a bit dumb," Arthur teased him. "But we're good?" he added more seriously.
"Of course we're good," Merlin assured him. "I didn't come here to talk to you about my new position anyway. There are more pressing matters that we need to discuss."
Arthur frowned. "Does it has something to do with your sudden disappearance after the Council meeting today?" he asked.
"What do you think? Of course it does!" Merlin shook his head. "You should have learnt by now that if I disappear, I usually have some good reasons to do that."
"All right. What is it then?"
Merlin looked him in the eyes. "Sir Lamorak."
Arthur immediately grew more serious. "Did you find out something?" he asked.
"I did," said Merlin, "and you won't like it."
He leaned on the wall and bit his bottom lip slightly. For some reason, it made Arthur distracted for a moment. When the king realised that it wasn't the right time for daydreaming, he straightened up, cleared his throat and said, "go on, then. I'm ready for whatever it is."
Merlin didn't look convinced but he knew that he had no choice. It was better to give Arthur a heads-up so he could be ready for Lamorak's next move.
"I believe he's going to spread the idea that you are not in your right mind," Merlin said finally.
"What? On what grounds?" Arthur was furious. "That's treason."
"Calm down, Arthur," Merlin asked him. "You can't show your raw emotions in front of your Council."
"I'm not in front of them right now," the king pointed out.
"But you had an outbreak today," Merlin reminded him, "when Sir Lamorak suggested that I should have been killed. That was touching but..."
"You expected me not to react at all?" Arthur asked angrily.
"Of course not." Merlin sighed. "But you should have used a more diplomatic way to express your objection. You know it."
Arthur did but it didn't change the way he felt about it. Sir Lamorak couldn't just go around throwing threats at Merlin. Not after all the things Merlin had done for Camelot. That wasn't right.
"I'll be more rational next time," Arthur promised eventually. "Now please explain to me how Sir Lamorak is going to justify his accusations regarding the state of my mind."
Merlin bit his bottom lip again. He knew that Arthur wasn't going to take this information lightly.
"He's going to claim that you are enchanted," he finally said. "By me."
Arthur looked at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?" he asked.
"I'm afraid so." Merlin gulped. "He wants to spread a rumour that I put a spell on you. That I control you. That all you said is coming from me," he said sadly.
"That's absurd," Arthur muttered.
"I'm glad to hear that," Merlin attempted to joke but it didn't come out as he hoped.
"He can't do that."
"We both know he can." Merlin pulled his hair in despair and frustration. "I wish I could protect you from such accusations but we should have known that they would come. You shouldn't make the changes so soon. Not all of them, at least. You should have never given me this promotion..."
"Merlin," Arthur said firmly.
"I mean it."
"You shouldn't." Arthur sighed. "You deserve this promotion and we both knew that the changes weren't going to be easy."
"But that's different," Merlin persisted. "Lamorak and his friends are going to undermine your position because of me. That's not right."
"We'll deal with them," Arthur assured him.
Merlin looked at him with annoyance. "Why are you suddenly so calm?" he asked.
"Because I'm not mad at you," Arthur told him. "I'm glad you found out about his plans. We can get prepared now." He hesitated for a short moment and then added, "we make quite a team, don't you think?"
"I always thought we were a team."
Arthur smiled lightly which was surprising under these circumstances.
"We were but it's different now when there's no lies between us," he said.
Merlin tried to smile in order to hide his sudden pang of conscience. He wished it could be true but it wasn't. Arthur couldn't find out the whole truth about his resurrection. Merlin wasn't going to let that happen.
"Do you have any idea how to stop Sir Lamorak, then?" Merlin asked after a while in order to change the subject.
"I'll think about it and ask Guinevere for her opinion," Arthur said decisively. "She tends to have great ideas about these kinds of problems."
"You're right. Her point of view may be refreshing."
Arthur smiled wider. "Don't look so upset, Merlin, we'll find a way to defeat an old fool," he said. "Just don't tell anyone I used these words."
Merlin's lips quivered.
"Besides, that's all ridiculous," Arthur continued. "I would have known if you put a spell on me."
"Well..."
Arthur looked at him closely. "What does it mean, Merlin?"
"I might have put a spell on you once or twice before," Merlin said timidly. "But that was only for your own good."
"Merlin!"
"Yes, Arthur?"
"I demand you to tell me more about it. Right now!"
Merlin sighed. Arthur wasn't going to like his stories at all.
oOoOo
In the evening, Merlin came back to his and Gaius' quarters to talk with him about the events of the day and ask him for help. He agreed with Arthur that he would seek some advice from Gaius while the king would talk to Guinevere. He hoped that together they would come up with some ideas how to deal with Sir Lamorak.
"This is tough," Gaius admitted. "Sir Lamorak hates magic almost as much as Uther did."
"That much we know," Merlin said sadly. "What do you think will happen once he spreads the idea that I enchanted Arthur?"
"It's hard to tell but he'll find some supporters for sure." The old man sighed. "There are people who won't change their view on magic easily, if at all.
"We always knew that but fearing magic and undermining Arthur's sanity and authority are two different things. Arthur pretends that he doesn't care but I know he does. He fought so bravely for Camelot and he doesn't deserve such accusations."
"Merlin, I know you're upset," Gaius told him quietly. "But getting mad won't solve our problems. Morgana may be dead but there will always be people who want the throne for themselves."
"You mean Sir Lamorak?" Merlin asked. "He has no claim to the throne."
"At the moment no one but Arthur has strong grounds to claim the throne but there are others who will use every opportunity to take it for themselves," Gaius tried to explain. "If people believe that Arthur is under the influence of your magic, they will refuse to follow him. In such case they will have to find another leader."
"Sir Lamorak is an old fool. No one's going to choose him to be their leader," Merlin said firmly.
"But he has a son," Gaius pointed out. "He may want to put him on the throne."
"I won't let it happen." Merlin looked at Gaius closely. "How can you be so calm in a moment like this?"
The old man smiled warmly. "Because I know that you won't let that happen," he said. "I only wanted to point out what Sir Lamorak may be planning right now. You just had to know what's at stake."
Merlin knew very well what was at stake. It was Arthur's future and they had to do something to keep it on the right track.
oOoOo
These things couldn't be left on their own for a long time so Merlin went to the king's chamber in the morning and found Arthur and Guinevere in the middle of breakfast.
"Merlin," Arthur greeted him, smiling.
"I'm sorry for an early visit but your enemies won't wait," Merlin told him. "Gaius helped me realise last night what's at stake and we must do something with Sir Lamorak quickly."
"That won't be necessary," the king told him.
"But Arthur..."
"It's all right, Merlin," Gwen spoke up. "We can't just do something with Sir Lamorak. It's not wise. He would call himself a martyr then. Many people would start to think that there must be something true in his accusations."
Deep down, Merlin felt that Gwen was right but sitting and waiting for Lamorak's vicious lies spreading like a plague over Camelot didn't seem wise either.
"Lamorak is going to undermine Arthur's position with his rumours. That's not right." Merlin looked at the king who didn't seem to be bothered. "Don't you care about it, Arthur? You worked so hard to make this kingdom a better place. You fought Morgana so bravely. You just can't let an old fool to take it away from you," he told him.
"Calm down, Merlin," said Arthur calmly. "I won't let that happen. Don't worry about it. Guinevere has a great idea how to deal with Lamorak in a quiet way."
Merlin glanced at Gwen and then back at Arthur. "I'm listening," he said and his friends shared their plan with him.
oOoOo
The plan was a bit risky in Merlin's opinion. After what he'd gone through with Mordred, he preferred to deal with the enemies in a more direct way. There was no guarantee that their plan was going to work but he knew that it was more diplomatic than anything that came to his mind.
They were going to let Sir Lamorak spread his rumours which were full of lies and they were going to prove him wrong in front of the entire kingdom. Merlin was going to prove them wrong and that thought made him feel uncertain. He always had a lot of things on his shoulders but that was different. He needed to do it in public so everyone could see it. He wasn't sure he was ready for that.
However, Arthur and Gwen were sure that he was ready for this step. They were going to support him and guide him. They were in this together. The three of them.
Merlin smiled sadly at the irony.
He had to act coolly as if nothing happened but he could tell that Sir Lamorak's men already started spreading the cruel rumours. Some people were giving him and even Arthur suspicious glances. It made him feel angry but he knew he couldn't act on his impulses. He promised Arthur that he wouldn't.
When Merlin saw Sir Lamorak, the old lord was smirking pointedly. It was so difficult to keep his emotions in check but Merlin managed to do that.
They had another Council meeting during which they discussed some details concerning new laws about magic. This time they had to face some more averse remarks but no one dared to challenge Arthur's authority yet. For that Merlin was grateful because he wasn't sure if he could stand it and stay calm.
The Council meeting ended but there were still many things to discuss and they agreed to have another meeting on the next day.
"You did well," Arthur told him when they were left alone. "I'm proud of you."
"That wasn't easy," Merlin admitted. "I don't understand how you can bear their glances and vicious comments."
"I'm the king, Merlin, I got used to them long time ago," he replied.
"But these are lies." Merlin shook his head in resignation. "I'm not sure if our plan is going to work. How am I supposed to convince them that magic can be used for good if they don't want to see it?"
"They will see it,"Arthur assured him. "If I could change my mind, they can change it too. You are the walking proof that magic doesn't have to be evil."
"But they already started talking that I make you do it. That I made you change the law and that you're my puppet." Merlin sighed and lowered his head. "That's not right."
Arthur came up to him and raised his chin with a finger so that their eyes met. Merlin could feel a shiver running through his body. He could swear that it reached Arthur too. It all made him feel a little bit dizzy with emotions.
"People always talk," said Arthur quietly. "Don't worry about it. I know that in time they will open their eyes and see. We can make them see it all."
"What if they don't realise it on time?" Merlin asked. "It's so risky."
"It's not risky at all. If after all we've done for this kingdom, they won't accept the return of magic, then it's not worth it. I don't want to be their king if they decide it's not right."
Merlin gasped. "Arthur," he whispered. "You can't say that. This is your kingdom and they are your people. You can't abandon them. It's not worth it."
Arthur shook his head. "It is worth it," he said firmly. "This kingdom would have been destroyed now, if you hadn't used your magic to protect it. Morgana would have been their queen and they would have felt her cruelty on their skin. They will understand in time that you can help them with your magic while my sister would have used it to terrorise them."
Merlin felt a little bit better. "I'm glad that you're so hopeful and that you're having so much faith in me but it's all so difficult. What exactly am I supposed to do now?" he asked.
"Go to the people and help them," Arthur told him. "Cure them. Respect them. Smile at them. Be yourself and they will learn to appreciate that."
Merlin nodded. If Arthur could believe in him so much, he could give it a try. He was going to do that for Arthur and Camelot and for himself. But most of all for Arthur.